Thanks, Dave. No, what we see in Colchicum is not the same. The things we see in Colchicum (those yellowish-white open tubes with a slit on the side which sometimes stick up above ground and from which both the flowers and eventually leaves come) are sometimes called the sheath and really correspond to what are called cataphylls or sheathing scales in Crocus. The prophyll of Crocus is, to put it in very clumsy language, the wrapper or tube or bag in which the entire inflorescence develops. It's within the ring of leaves (and the leaves are within the cataphylls). Ordinarily, the prophyll is visible, if at all, right at ground level or sticking up a bit. But the ones on my Crocus goulimyi are sticking up several inches above ground, and they have not opened up yet. In fact, it will probably take the pressure of the developing inflorescence to pop the prophyll tube open. I'm still trying to remember just what this reminds me of. Jim McKenney Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where it's too early in the morning for this technical talk.